Comparison of Concentration Smear and Culture for Tubercle Bacilli

lnchon Red Cross Sanatorium 29.241 specimens of sputum were concomitantly made concentration smears and done cultures for M. tuberculosis at lnchon Red Cross Sanatorium from 1963 to 1972. 17, 564(60%) specimens showed smear negative and culture negative; 1. 169 ~4%) specimens were smear negative and culture positive; 8, 901(30. 5%) specimens smear positive and culture positive; 454(1.5%) specimens smear positive and culture negative; and 1. 162 (4%) specimens were contaminated on culture.